Samuel Tancredi, 84; Started 3 Pharmacies

by Frank Dougherty, Daily News Staff Writer

Posted: May 29, 1993

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated today for Samuel J. Tancredi, a pharmacist who delighted in introducing young Franklin Institute visitors to the scientific marvels of liquid nitrogen and the forces of flight.

Tancredi, 84, who died Monday, lived in West Oak Lane.

"My father was a man of many interests and pursuits. More than 20 years ago he decided to share them with school children visiting the Franklin Institure," said his son, Raphael.

"Every Friday, he guided the liquid nitrogen, liquid air and forces of flight shows, donating his time and expertise free-of-charge."

Samuel Tancredi's career in pharmacy goes back to 1923 when he was hired as a stock and delivery boy at a Philadelphia corner pharmacy.

Seven years later he was a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and out on his own in the business world.

The Tancredi business remains a family enterprise. All three of Samuel's boys are pharmacists, along with three grandsons.

There are three Tancredi pharmacies operating today, one each in Frankford, Bustleton, and Head House Square in Society Hill.

Affectionately referred to by employees and friends as "Mister T," he and his wife, Lee, lived in West Oak Lane for 55 years.

He devoted much of his considerable energy to his parish church, St. Athanasius, where he served as eucharistic minister, lector, and chairman of the Catholic Charities Appeal.

He was active, too, with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Knights of Columbus, and the Blood Bank Drive.

For the past 25 years he was a driving piston in the Rotary Club of Philadelphia. The recipient of the 1993 Rotary Vocational Service Award, fellow Rotarians lauded Tancredi as "The living embodiment of of all of Rotary's highest ideals."

In addition to his wife and son, Raphael, he is survived by two other sons, Pasquale and Richard; a daughter, Mary Ann; 17 grandchildren; and seven great- grandchildren.

Mass of Christian Burial was to be celebrated this morning at 11 at St. Athanasius Church, Limekiln Pike and Walnut Lane.